London report: Britain's leading shares made little headway in quiet trade today, but the mid-cap index scored a fresh all-time high as housebuilders rallied on news of a possible takeover of Westbury by bigger rival Persimmon fuelled hopes for consolidation in the sector.
Shares in Westbury surged almost 20 per cent, while Persimmon - which would become the UK's largest housebuilder if it succeeds in taking over Westbury - gained 6.7 per cent.
Dealers said a successful Persimmon would be large enough to enter the FTSE 100 share index, triggering a rash of buying by funds that track the benchmark index.
The mid-cap leaders' board was cluttered with housebuilders, with Bellway , Wilson Bowden and Barratt Developments each gaining more than 3 per cent. By 0834 GMT the FTSE 100 share index was down 5 points at 5,459.9, pausing after Friday's 42-point gain.
Mining stocks, including BHP Billiton , Rio Tinto and Antofagasta , crowded the list of FTSE risers to track a strong performance in Australia overnight after commodity prices largely rose. Merger and acquisition activity moved selected shares, with plasterboard maker BPB up 1 per cent after Saint Gobain extended its bid offer.
Sources familiar with the situation told Reuters on Sunday that St Gobain was prepared to raise its offer to 3.8 billion pounds or 760 pence a share - in exchange for a board recommendation.
Back among mid-caps, shares in drug delivery firm SkyePharma surged more than 10 per cent after saying it had received an unsolicited takeover approach and that it appointed Lehman Brothers to examine its strategic options as a result.
In the financial sector shares in Old Mutual firmed 1 per cent after South Africa's largest insurer posted an 18 per cent rise in nine-month life sales and said trading at its banking subsidiary, Nedbank, had slightly exceeded management expectations. But shares in Business Post slumped 13 per cent after the company warned on profits for the second time in as many months, blaming weakness at its main parcel delivery arm.
